Hello! I am going to be in a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign soon. Our party is a barbarian, paladin, fighter, warlock, and my lizardfolk cleric. I was originally going to be Tempest domain to fit in with GoS, but with such a melee/strength heavy party I feel like something else would be better.
Any suggestions on which domain would fit best? We are using point buy, so after racials I would have 16 Wis and 16 Con, and most likely 15 Dex.
I really wouldn't worry about party synergy too much - it should work out just fine regardless of the domain you pick.
I don't think there is a "bad" choice amongst the many domains available for that party, though the domain can definitely change the way that the character functions.
Have a think about the character and pick the domain that feels right to you and looks most fun. :)
Are you expecting to be the primary healer? Do you want to blast at range? Really any cleric can be good at any role... but there are a few that stand out at specific things.
Life domain is the obvious choice for boosting healing, but with a Paladin in the party there's a comparative diminishing return on the investment. That said, you can still wreck enemy groups. I've got a Life Cleric that struts across the battlefield wrecking everything in his way with his Warhammer, Spiritual Weapon, and Spirit Guardians.
Arcana, Grave, and Light domains are all great blasters. I tip my hat to Arcana as the most versatile of the blaster clerics (cantrips from the Wizard list!). Grave has neat utility with their 30ft Spare The Dying, and the amazing critical hit cancelling ability at level 6.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Light Clerics might be at a disadvantage if any of the adventures feature large stretches of time underwater, fire spells dont work too well in those circumstances.
Anything that allows you to add water breathing to your lists will be gratefully recieved by a party, especially those who wear heavy armour, and one acrobat check fail has them heading to the bottom of the deep (light spell on anchor, drop anchor, recover the fighter / paladin.)
Nature might be a good call, but forgive me for not being certain, If you reach 6th and gain the ability to grant resistance to an element of your choice in an adventure probably featuring storms and possibly Kraken clerics, druids and tempest style cleric enemies you have major ablation you will be grateful for.
Otherwise its the old favourites, whatever you would normally enjoy playing. Have fun, and dont drown!
For nature-related skills and general utility, Druid would honestly be a better bet, and they have the most broken healing spell in the game at level 3. You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment. Also, you'll probably have to rely more on Shillelagh for melee combat and you would have fewer direct damage spells and direct buffs to choose from. Hmmm, I see why Druid is a lot less popular.
Anyway, IF you are the only full caster in the game, then you might want to pay close attention to the spell lists of each domain since you will be relied on to solve a lot of the party's non-combat problems.
You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment.
Worth pointing out that--unlike previous editions--heavy armor does not impose any penalties while in water.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
If you're having difficulty picking one because they all sound like fun, ask your fellow players for suggestions! Maybe one of them has a fun idea for some backstory synergy that could work well if you go with a specific domain. Or maybe you can coordinate spell choices a bit easier with your Warlock.
You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment.
Worth pointing out that--unlike previous editions--heavy armor does not impose any penalties while in water.
Really? I'm playing in a campaign in Chult right now and it seems like Everybody in the party is either reluctant to wear heavy armor or reluctant to get in combat in the river b/c of the weight of heavy armor. Are saying that their fear is based on a houserule?
You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment.
Worth pointing out that--unlike previous editions--heavy armor does not impose any penalties while in water.
Really? I'm playing in a campaign in Chult right now and it seems like Everybody in the party is either reluctant to wear heavy armor or reluctant to get in combat in the river b/c of the weight of heavy armor. Are saying that their fear is based on a houserule?
Their fear is probably based on the assumption that the heavy armor swimming penalty carried over from previous editions. It didn't.
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You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment.
Worth pointing out that--unlike previous editions--heavy armor does not impose any penalties while in water.
Really? I'm playing in a campaign in Chult right now and it seems like Everybody in the party is either reluctant to wear heavy armor or reluctant to get in combat in the river b/c of the weight of heavy armor. Are saying that their fear is based on a houserule?
Their fear is probably based on the assumption that the heavy armor swimming penalty carried over from previous editions. It didn't.
I laugh, otherwise I would cry, this rule, or alternatively common sense was not written into the effects of any armour so yes by the players handbook, heavyarmour will not be responsible for swimming deaths. (if you are proficient and have the minimum str requirement) Heavy armour also has an analgesic effect on chronic nerve degeneration by the player handbook - if you wear heavy armour your dex1 spasming wreck has no penalty to armour class from dex. However if you remove some of those pieces reclassifying it as halfplate your ac drops from 18 to 10 immediately....
In short its nonsensical and you should be very wary about drowning because you wore 20 to 50lbs of metal before having a paddle. Speak with your DM though if your concerned. They may decide metal is a flotation device in the Gameworld.
Thinking about it, I think that if I were to run a water-centric campaign, I would probably houserule that armors over a certain weight impose a temporary Dex penalty and impose some kind of exhaustion rule to sustained activity in water unless the character is adapted to underwater life, like Tritons and sea elves (are they even a thing in 5e?).
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Hello! I am going to be in a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign soon. Our party is a barbarian, paladin, fighter, warlock, and my lizardfolk cleric. I was originally going to be Tempest domain to fit in with GoS, but with such a melee/strength heavy party I feel like something else would be better.
Any suggestions on which domain would fit best? We are using point buy, so after racials I would have 16 Wis and 16 Con, and most likely 15 Dex.
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D&D Beyond FoundersI really wouldn't worry about party synergy too much - it should work out just fine regardless of the domain you pick.
I don't think there is a "bad" choice amongst the many domains available for that party, though the domain can definitely change the way that the character functions.
Have a think about the character and pick the domain that feels right to you and looks most fun. :)
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My problem is that most of the domains would be fun to play and fit a lizardfolk, so I figured I would narrow it down mechanically.
Are you expecting to be the primary healer? Do you want to blast at range? Really any cleric can be good at any role... but there are a few that stand out at specific things.
Life domain is the obvious choice for boosting healing, but with a Paladin in the party there's a comparative diminishing return on the investment. That said, you can still wreck enemy groups. I've got a Life Cleric that struts across the battlefield wrecking everything in his way with his Warhammer, Spiritual Weapon, and Spirit Guardians.
Arcana, Grave, and Light domains are all great blasters. I tip my hat to Arcana as the most versatile of the blaster clerics (cantrips from the Wizard list!). Grave has neat utility with their 30ft Spare The Dying, and the amazing critical hit cancelling ability at level 6.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
If your party needs more skills, I recommend Knowledge Clerics.
If your party needs more stealth, how about Trickery Cleric?
Nature Cleric goes well with the Saltmarsh setting. It also goes quite well with Lizardfolk in terms of theme.
Light Clerics might be at a disadvantage if any of the adventures feature large stretches of time underwater, fire spells dont work too well in those circumstances.
Anything that allows you to add water breathing to your lists will be gratefully recieved by a party, especially those who wear heavy armour, and one acrobat check fail has them heading to the bottom of the deep (light spell on anchor, drop anchor, recover the fighter / paladin.)
Nature might be a good call, but forgive me for not being certain, If you reach 6th and gain the ability to grant resistance to an element of your choice in an adventure probably featuring storms and possibly Kraken clerics, druids and tempest style cleric enemies you have major ablation you will be grateful for.
Otherwise its the old favourites, whatever you would normally enjoy playing. Have fun, and dont drown!
For nature-related skills and general utility, Druid would honestly be a better bet, and they have the most broken healing spell in the game at level 3. You lose out on effective medium or heavy armor, but heavy armor can be a major negative in a marsh environment. Also, you'll probably have to rely more on Shillelagh for melee combat and you would have fewer direct damage spells and direct buffs to choose from. Hmmm, I see why Druid is a lot less popular.
Anyway, IF you are the only full caster in the game, then you might want to pay close attention to the spell lists of each domain since you will be relied on to solve a lot of the party's non-combat problems.
Worth pointing out that--unlike previous editions--heavy armor does not impose any penalties while in water.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
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InsiderIf you're having difficulty picking one because they all sound like fun, ask your fellow players for suggestions! Maybe one of them has a fun idea for some backstory synergy that could work well if you go with a specific domain. Or maybe you can coordinate spell choices a bit easier with your Warlock.
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Really? I'm playing in a campaign in Chult right now and it seems like Everybody in the party is either reluctant to wear heavy armor or reluctant to get in combat in the river b/c of the weight of heavy armor. Are saying that their fear is based on a houserule?
Their fear is probably based on the assumption that the heavy armor swimming penalty carried over from previous editions. It didn't.
You don't know what fear is until you've witnessed a drunk bird divebombing you while carrying a screaming Kobold throwing fire anywhere and everywhere.
Hah!
I laugh, otherwise I would cry, this rule, or alternatively common sense was not written into the effects of any armour so yes by the players handbook, heavyarmour will not be responsible for swimming deaths. (if you are proficient and have the minimum str requirement) Heavy armour also has an analgesic effect on chronic nerve degeneration by the player handbook - if you wear heavy armour your dex1 spasming wreck has no penalty to armour class from dex. However if you remove some of those pieces reclassifying it as halfplate your ac drops from 18 to 10 immediately....
In short its nonsensical and you should be very wary about drowning because you wore 20 to 50lbs of metal before having a paddle. Speak with your DM though if your concerned. They may decide metal is a flotation device in the Gameworld.
Thinking about it, I think that if I were to run a water-centric campaign, I would probably houserule that armors over a certain weight impose a temporary Dex penalty and impose some kind of exhaustion rule to sustained activity in water unless the character is adapted to underwater life, like Tritons and sea elves (are they even a thing in 5e?).